Reporter shot dead in Afghanistan

KABUL: Gunmen murdered an Afghan journalist in the eastern city of Ghazni on Monday, the third reporter to be killed in the last two months in the violence-plagued country.

Rahmatullah Nekzad was shot dead with a silenced pistol by unknown gunmen near his home while he was travelling to a nearby mosque, Ghazni province police spokesman Ahmad Khan Seerat told AFP.

Targeted killings of prominent figures, including journalists, politicians and rights activists, have become more common in recent months as violence surges in Afghanistan, despite ongoing peace talks between the government and the Taliban.

No group has claimed Nekzad's murder so far.

Nekzad, aged in his late 40s, had contributed to the Associated Press news agency since 2007 and had worked for the Al Jazeera broadcast network, according to the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee.